Fangs
by xfirefly9x
Summary: Vampire Diaries ficlets.
1. Wasn't Living

**_Wasn't Living_**

There's nothing worse than red hot realisation that you've messed up and lost the most important person in your life. Nothing. Not even death is that bad. Trust me. I know.

Til Elena, my life was… well, it was. It existed. I existed and I was there, but I wasn't living. Elena changed that. For once I felt a connection with someone who cared about me in return, who wasn't dark inside like Damon has gotten.

She's my light, my touchstone and my sanity. And I screwed up bad and lost that.

There are no words quite strong enough to explain how deeply I regret hurting her. But I cannot go back. For her sake and for Damon's and for mine. Tough times call for desperate measures, and these are tough times.

These are times that mean being without Elena is safer for us both – but especially for her. And I'd never forgive myself if something happened to her because of me or at my own hands.

Our separation is best for all involved.

_Fin._


	2. Watching from the Sidelines

**_Watching from the Sidelines_**

There isn't any logic to it, but then, he's never been one to bank too heavily on logic. Too much in the world is uncertain. The supernatural world ensures that.

With a smile on his face, he goes with it. All of it. He takes whatever comes his way and he lets it do its worst to him. Original vampire? Go right ahead. He'll find a way to fight it. Hybrid? Same, but easier. Any other supernatural creature? He'll deal.

A girl who has stolen his heart, though? Impossible.

Of all the troubles he has faced, this is the one that has him stumped. It has him falling all over himself in his attempts to find reason, in his attempts to get back his heart or steal hers too.

Stealing hers is taking far more out of him than he ever thought possible – and he's not even sure if he has succeeded yet. Probably not. And it's worse, because she looks just like Katherine, the one who got away.

Katherine was nothing if not hard to please. She was a wild soul with wild intentions and she looked the part: Her dark cascades ran down the sides of her face, hiding her beautiful eyes and shrouding her in mystery and intrigue. He wanted her, bad.

Elena is her mirror image, but is nothing like her. Elena is sweet and more or less innocent, depending on your definition of the word. She is honey, rich and easy to fall in love with. Proof of that is the fact that she is dating Stefan.

His brother has won her over already, easily, and he's on the sidelines watching, craving, wanting her.

How screwed up is that?

How screwed up is it that he doesn't care? That he wants the thrill of the chase in making her fall for him, that even though he knows she loves Stefan, he waits and bides his time until he has a chance to slip in?

He never has been much of a friend to anyone, either. Lonely, broken, angry Damon, with his ice blue eyes and charming smile and glimmering teeth. That's how they all see him. He has to compel women to spend time with him.

It shouldn't be the case – he's a great looking guy with plenty of charm – but he's so broken on the inside that it shows on the outside. He can talk any woman into getting an interest in him, but he hasn't the heart, because he knows his heart belongs to Elena and any other woman will just be a way to pass the time.

He'd feel guilty if he talked them into falling in love with him, for real, only to crush their hearts. Figuratively speaking. It's so much easier and quicker and tidier to compel them and then make them forget. That way, he doesn't have to recall the process of falling in love, and then the crushing defeat and the burning at the end of the tunnel.

There's no logic to any of it, he knows, and he wishes there was. But that will never be the case. He's torn inside by a girl, still in high school, and of all the things he has faced, it is his downfall.

She is his downfall. Or maybe it's his own fault for hoping, for waiting.

Chances are he'll never know the feel of her lips on his, of his arms around her small warm body. Chances are he'll never know her heart. But he'll wait. Because chances are, as slim as they may be, that he will know those things.

One day. One day far off.

_Fin._


	3. Burning Bright

**_Burning Bright_**

Like fire, burning bright, the magic crackles and jumps in the air. Tiny sparks. Endless heat. It burns and makes him want to flinch and move away from it, but he knows he can't: it will follow him wherever he goes.

He knows this because he knows who is behind it. He turns with a smirk. "Bonnie. Out here with this crowd?" A little up the road, crowds of people gather and talk and party.

She returns the smirk but ignores his question. "Feeling the heat?" she asks sweetly. That look on her face is far too innocent for the mischief she gets up to sometimes, the destruction. Now that he thinks about it, _kind of hot_.

She's only toying with him - he knows this - but he can't resist baiting her. It's oh so much fun, even more so knowing that they could be found at any moment. "I was thinking of grabbing my jacket, actually. It's a little chilly in here."

Bonnie quirks an eyebrow, scrunches up her face a bit and turns up the heat.

He can't help it - he flails wildly, like he's literally on fire. A groan escapes his lips. His skin is burning, flaming, roasting,

Stops.

His body relaxes. Staring at her, caught between annoyance and a little fearful, but displaying only a crazy enjoyment of the festivities, he breathes in deeply. "That the best you got?"

"Just reminding you what I can do." She smiles at him.

"Well? You've done that. Carry on. Aren't you supposed to be seeing Elena or blondie?" He tilts his head to the side to gesture in the direction of her friends.

No words pass from her lips, but he can get a sense of what she's thinking by looking in her eyes. He smiles, charmingly, he hopes, and waves her on. "Whatever. I'm off," he tells her. He heads toward the crowd.

She calls after him as if addressing an untrained puppy or a child, "You be a good boy, now."

Though he grins at that, it stings. That girl really knows how to get under his skin.

_fin._


	4. Grave Digging

_**Grave Digging**_

The expression that he wore the next time she saw him was a grave one. If she didn't know better, she would think he had just lost a loved one or a pet. He looked as if he had been in a low place and then had someone kick him. And she knew that she was at fault.

She didn't quite know how to soothe him without giving him the wrong idea and without taking back her rejection from their last talk (neither of those situations could end well), and so she smiled awkwardly from afar. It was an apologetic smile that she hoped held nothing more than her sympathy for him.

She toyed with the idea that maybe she should just leave and let him suffer and deal with it. He was a big boy. He could handle it, surely. She couldn't be the first girl to reject him and surely wouldn't be the last.

But would she be able to just leave? Was she good enough to find a way to mend his broken heart, without stitching herself deeper into his skin?

If she were right, she couldn't. She wasn't that cruel or that clever. She was worse than cruel and she was smart, but then this was a matter of the heart and intelligence rarely fixed those. She wanted to be there for him, only it was the thing that would hurt him most. Having her in his reach, but unable to touch or have her in any way other than friendship had to be torture for him. He had made that much clear during their last conversation.

She didn't know what he needed from her, if she was completely honest. She was afraid to dig deeper and find out, in case there was something more there that she would uncover. As such, she went for simpler theories. Space was her best idea. A sit down and a serious conversation to clear the air was a less solid idea. But neither of those things would really change anything. Was any of it worth trying?

While she thought about it, she tried to keep her distance. She stayed close enough that he could, if he needed it, talk with her though. If she could help, she would be there. If she was only hurting him more, she would have to pull away and let him go.

By the time he left, not a word to her and only a few snide remarks to his brother, she wore a grave expression too.

_fin._


	5. Any Other Person

_Damon/Elena_

_**Any Other Person**_

She has so much power over him and she doesn't even know it. Doesn't even begin to comprehend how she can affect him. She just keeps on going about her business like it's the business of any other person on the planet. He knows better though. Her business is far more important. Everything she does, says, thinks, is more important. To him, at least. And that's all that matters, right? What matters to _him._

She makes him feel like he has rarely felt before. Rarely, because once, he had Katherine in his life. And now, he's feeling things he thought he'd never know again, things that he thought back in his past, back in his human life when he was stupid and naive.

And he doesn't know what to do about any of it. He's not the type to sit back and wait and hope that _she _will come to her senses and drop his brother for him. He knows how unlikely that scenario is. So, instead, he sits back and waits and watches her and he hopes that Stefen will screw things up with her and leave the way open for him.

Maybe one day she'll see that there is more to him than the dark being he pretends to be. Maybe one day she'll care for him. Maybe one day she will love him like he already loves her.

_fin._


	6. Death is Her

_**Death is Her**_

The change was complete, she knew it. She could feel everything around her. She was aware of every last breath the woman down the hall was making. She knew that there was an elderly man making his way down one of the hallways. She heard the beep, beep, beep of a monitor.

The hospital was emptier than usual, but to her it felt so much more vibrant and alive.

Ironic, given that she was now dead. Undead. Whichever.

She licked her lips free of blood and spared a glance at the nurse heaped over on the floor. She'd been a nice meal, but not enough. The taste for blood, the desires... they swirled around her and made her crave more, more, more, more, more...

More.

More.

But she couldn't have more. Not yet. Now, she had to make her way out of the hospital without anyone stopping her. Without being discharged, that was going to be difficult. She was certainly not strong enough yet to compel someone into discharging her. Right?

She slipped out of the room soundlessly and glided down the hall. She passed a nurse doing the rounds, checking in on another patient. The nurse didn't see or hear her. She moved right past, no problem. No problem at all. She liked the sound of that.

The rest of the hall was empty, though there were a few more nurses in rooms with patients, and a receptionist was bent down in a connected room, trying to find a file. A phone rang off in the distance. She covered her ears with her hands, gritted her teeth and kept on.

She manoeuvred the halls expertly, quietly, slinking in the darkness, unseen. And then she was out... and Damon's arms were around her.

"Damon!" she hissed, pushing him back with far less effort than she previously would have needed to use.

"Elena," he replied, after getting over his initial shock. "What's gotten into you?"

"Don't you mean who did I let suck my neck? My blood?"

"I-"

"It doesn't matter. It happened. It's how things are now."

Damon looked confused. He seemed caught between angry and sad and fearful... and she was quite certain the glimpses of fear she saw were all about what she had become.

"Well? Are you going to stand out here all night til someone finds us and drags me back in or are we going to leave?"

He nodded, slowly, and then a more resolute look crossed his features. "Yeah. Yeah, we are. Let's go, Elena."

They arrived at her house in next to no time. It was amazing how fast she could run now, with these super powers. All of it was amazing. Every little thing about being a vampire was human and _right,_ only stronger. So much stronger. She felt everything tenfold. Perhaps more.

"Is this how it always is?"

Damon shook his head. "Sometimes it's better. Sometimes it's worse."

"How do you mean?"

"Well, by now I'm sure you've realised how everything is amplified."

"Yes?" she confirmed.

"Now, imagine the worst pain you've ever felt in your life. Your human life. That's nothing compared to how it'll feel now."

She nodded slowly. It made sense. In fact, if she wasn't so caught up in how everything felt, she might have thought it sooner. A small frown on her face, she studied him. "How do you cope?"

"I don't. None of it does. We just have to deal with it and ride it out. Not so great being a vampire now, is it?"

She narrowed her eyes at him, hesitating a moment, and then turned away, her hair swishing around her shoulders. "What do we do now?"

"You," he said, "Get some sleep."

"And you?"

"I'll make sure you don't kill anyone else tonight."

She frowned at that. Part of her screamed at her that what she'd done to the nurse before was wrong and evil and unthinkable. She pushed that part of her down inside where it had no say. It was too fun to give up just yet. She was feeling weary though, so she played along.

"Join me?" she teased as she slipped into bed. She winked at Damon, who simply shook his head and turned away. She could've sworn she saw a tear slip down one cheek before his back was to her.

"Good night, Damon," she said. She waited for a response.

She didn't get one. The silence was palpable.

She sighed, turned over in bed and tried to ignore the hunger creeping back in. For now, she had to regain her strength. There would be plenty of time later to maim the citizens of Mystical Falls and drink their blood.

_fin._


	7. Forbidden Ones

_Damon/Elena_

_**Forbidden Ones**_

She peels back the wrapper and then sticks the end of the chocolate bar into her mouth. Nothing about it is graceful or beautiful. She's simply fulfilling a need: her hunger. And yet somehow, the simple act of her eating fascinates him.

He can't tear his gaze from her. He's glad, all of a sudden, that he's hidden, because if anyone were to see his expression as he watched her...

He shakes his head. Stupid, Damon. Stupid. She'll never be yours. Stefen has already claimed her. Stefen already has her heart. Perfect Stefen. Of course she would choose him. And yet, he's here, hiding behind some bushes like a teenager with a crush.

She's nearly done with the chocolate. Her tongue darts out to lick the remains of chocolate from the wrapper. He stares. And then, again, he realises what he is doing and finally, he tears his eyes away. She's not for him. Never will be.

For some reason, he thinks, he always falls for the forbidden ones.

_fin._


	8. Through the Glass

_**Through the Glass**_

She claws at her scalp, fingers splayed out like roots of a tree. Her eyes are clamped shut, her jaw clenched. She grinds her teeth and stares blankly off into a dimension he can only dream about.

"Elena?"

Silence. It's a heavy sound. Far heavier than any sound he's heard before. He doesn't know how to react to it. So, he doesn't. He watches her, eyes pinched at the corners, mouth turned downward into a slight frown. He watches her and waits.

Still, she sits there, oblivious to his presence.

"Elena."

He reaches for her, takes her shoulders in his hands and shakes her. Gently at first, then a little harder. "Elena. Say something."

Not a word leaves her lips. Her fingers curl and dig deeper into her scalp. Her face is pale. Her lips blue.

His eyes close a moment, clamp shut, and then he opens them again. "What the hell did you take?"

A lazy smile falls across her face - as does a strand of her long, silky hair. He pushes her hair back behind her ear. There's nothing he can do for the smile, though... the smile that is so very un-Elena. He pulls her to his chest and does the only thing he can think to do. He heads for the hospital.

#

She doesn't look at him when he visits her the next day. The doctor had wanted to keep her overnight for observation, perhaps longer, so he had planned his visit and arrived early enough that she had not yet been released, _if _she was deemed fit to be released.

He sits by her bed, one hand resting gently on the bed. The other stays in his lap, fidgets on occasion with his thumb nail or the edge of his coat.

For a moment when he walked in, she glanced up, showed signs of wakefulness. But then, she turned away and closed her eyes again. Even with her eyes closed, he can tell she's doing better physically, but he can't tell what she's thinking.

Colour has returned to her face, but barely. The doctor said it was to be expected. She would need time to get back to normal.

If he's honest, he's not sure normal is possible for her again. If she had normality in her life, would she have wound up here? He doubts it. He doubts it and he is certain that both himself and Stefen are at fault for her being here. They did this to her.

And she probably hates them both for it.

He leaves her a note when he realises she's going to fake sleep as long as he's there, touches his lips to her forehead, and leaves. She'll be better off alone, he is sure of it. A girl like Elena deserves better than a life filled with vampires and darkness.

_fin._


	9. Breakfast

_Elena/Stefan_

_**Breakfast**_

She's gone when he wakes up. He can tell - he can't smell her scent any more. The house has little patches of her perfume left, but not enough to confirm for him that she is she there. He wets his lips with his tongue. Frowns.

When he makes it downstairs, he goes straight to the front door. It hangs open. Yes. She's gone. He knew it, but this only gives him proof. This decides it for him.

He wonders what he did. He must have done something to scare her off. Maybe she isn't as ready to be with him - a vampire - as she originally thought. Maybe she's scared of him. Maybe she changed her mind. Maybe she doesn't want him anymore, and getting physical with one another again made her rethink her actions and regret ever being with him.

It kills him that maybe he hurt her. In whatever way, if he did something to make her feel bad, he wishes it back. He is supposed to protect her from the world, not be the force that ultimately destroys her. But so far, it looks like the only thing really harmful to her is him.

He frowns and leaving the door open, wanders back inside a bit, where he stares at the couch for a minute. Then, he digs in his pocket for his phone. He brings her number up on speed dial, studies the photo he had taken of her to go alongside the number. His thumb hovers over the call button.

To call or not to call? He wonders.

And then he senses movement outside. He can still smell her perfume but its duller now. He stares at the still open door, squints into the sunlight, waits. Who is it?

He waits and watches the doorway and he hopes.

He's surprised to see her hurry back inside, swearing slightly when she sees the open door, and then glancing up and giving him a sheepish grin. She turns around again to close the door. It shuts with a soft 'click'.

"I got breakfast," she says, holding up two white paper bags.

"I thought you went home."

"You're not getting rid of me that easily," she teased.

He smiled. So maybe she was tougher than she looked. He had always known she was strong, had loved her for it, but somehow he had let himself think less of her. "I'm glad," he said.

He leaves her in the dining room to set up their breakfast, and goes in search of a jumper. He pulls it on over his head. Then, he heads back down. This time he isn't afraid to return to an empty room. This time, he's smiling as he pads down the stairs. And this time, Elena is smiling back when he reaches the dining room.

_fin._


	10. Madness

_Klaus/Caroline_

_**Madness**_

He can't help but fall instantly in attraction with Caroline. Attraction, not love, because surely it takes longer to fall in love. How can he claim to love her now? They've only just met.

Still, he finds he is addicted to her, to her scent, to her smile, to her sharp and cutting words. She keeps turning him down, and he keeps going back for more. It's madness - all of it, madness - but while his head tells him he's being stupid, his heart won't let go.

He wants her. And he wants her to want him. And he wants to want her less, because she wants something else. But life never was easy, and it sure isn't easy for him. All he wanted when he came to this sleepy little town was to make more hybrids and have someone to keep him company, someone to be like him.

But the town had different ideas for him. And then, there was Caroline.

He's screwed. He's stuck, and he's not sure if he likes that he is or he hates it. All he does know is while he's here, and while Caroline is still here, he'll do all he can to seduce her, to make her his.

It's a game he's good at and he's not willing to lose.

_fin._


	11. A Voice Crawls

_**A Voice Crawls**_

A voice crawls from behind the bushes, so quiet and distorted that she's not sure it's even there. Then, again. It repeats what it said. Something. She's not sure what.

"Hello?" she calls out.

There's no reply, not even the rustle of bushes.

"Hello?" she calls again.

And again, silence falls.

It's eerie, this silence, for even the birds do not sing. In that moment, all is quiet. In that moment, there's nothing.

She peers through the shadows, pulls her coat tighter to her. Then, she hurries on forward, heads for home where it's better. Out on the street, she's not certain what roams.

But inside, it's safe and warm and she knows what to expect.

She's nearly to the front door when this time something does rustle. When she looks over her shoulder, a jet black crow looks right back at her.

She stares at it and it stares at her. Then it turns its head and flies away.

She laughs it off as she closes the door behind her, but the feeling of unease, of uncertainty, remains deep inside of her.

_fin._


	12. Battle's End

_Damon/Elena_

_**Battle's End**_

In the glory of the battle's end, they danced and drank like it was truly the end. His smirk was a constant fixture that never swayed, never changed. Her eyes were liquid fire, passion and desire.

Til the last stream of moonlight vanished and the shadow of day slipped in, they didn't stop moving, didn't stop breathing, didn't stop _living_. They waited for the day, never wanting it to arrive.

And when finally it did, when the daylight slid in, he pressed his mouth to hers for a moment of calm. Then, as quickly as their celebration began in the blackness, it came to a close in the light.

They parted ways, parted their worlds, left the pieces of the night hidden where only they would know about.

_fin._


	13. Let Me

_**Let Me**_

She scratches him, draws her nails down his back, and blood runs from his flesh. She can smell it and it makes her ravenous. It makes her hunger. It makes her want him and makes her want him to want her.

She smiles at him, a sly, decisive smile, and then slowly moves around his body, until she is behind him. She lowers her lips to where the blood trail begins and runs her tongue down his back. She grins when he shivers.

"Elena-"

"Let me do this."

"But Stefan-"

"Let me do this." Firmer.

He shuts up and her tongue resumes its path downwards, ending at the small of his back. There, she stops. She pulls back and licks her lips.

"Elena."

In less than a moment, she is in front of him again. "Shut up."

He shakes his head, but remains silent as she pushes him against the nearest wall.

"I'm not done with you yet," she whispers, a glint in her eye, and without another word, she sinks her fangs into his neck, while he leans back into the wall and closes his eyes.

_fin._


	14. Cocoa

_Damon/Elena_

_**Cocoa**_

The bitter taste of cocoa stung the back of his throat. He tried to swallow it down, but the flavour wouldn't go away. He growled quietly to himself. As much as he liked chocolate on occasion, tonight it was too much of a reminder of _her_. Elena.

The dinner party her aunt had thrown earlier in the evening was a quiet one, but all the same, he had enjoyed it. He had managed to get Elena to himself for a half hour when she was washing the dishes. He'd slipped into the kitchen when the others were talking and was at her side before she knew about it.

His sudden appearance had startled her. And then he was pushing her up against the counter, his hands in her hair, and his mouth on hers, tasting the chocolate on her lips, and she was kissing him back, pulling him to her, before she realised what she was doing, pushed him away and slapped him.

Damn, he wished he could be with her again. He wished she were with him right then. Alas, she was not, but he could still taste her chocolate lips and he still remembered the way her silky smooth hair felt as it flowed between his fingers. He could still remember the glare she sent him when they broke from the kiss.

His eyes fluttered closed at their own accord and he swallowed again. Still, the chocolate wouldn't leave him. He cringed and then opened his eyes again.

At once, he headed for the cabinet. He pulled out the first bottle - an expensive bottle - of scotch and uncapped it. In the same motion, he brought it to his lips and drank deep. The liquid burned pleasantly all the way down, dissolving the chocolate as it went. It cleared his throat faster than it clouded his mind.

He tossed the bottle when it was half-drained. Elena. He couldn't stop thinking about her. Even with the chocolate melted away, she was foremost in his thoughts.

He cursed and picked up the bottle again. It was going to be a long night.

_Fin._


	15. Failure

_Damon/Elena_

_**Failure**_

He failed her. He wasn't there for her when she most needed it and now she is paying the ultimate price: her life.

He didn't understand her before, in the times she had said she'd die before letting herself become a vampire. At least, as a vampire, you still exist. You still are. Humans on the other hand, are mortal. They die.

But now he gets it. Now, when it is too late, he can understand.

It isn't about any of that for her. For her, it's about the people she'll leave behind, the people she will outlive. It's about staying human. It's about not losing herself to the bloodlust and vamped-up emotions and super-human abilities. It's about growing old. Being normal.

It's about everything and nothing and it really sucks that her choice to be human has been ripped from her.

He can't help but feel glad she has completed the transition now, though. He's not sure he would be able to handle her dying permanently.

Even so, he failed her. Her greatest wish – to remain human – is no more an option, and he did nothing to stop that from happening.

He failed her, and in doing so, he also failed himself.

_Fin._


	16. Not Like Yourself

_Damon/Elena_

_**Not Like Yourself**_

"Keep going," he urged her.

She looked him in the eyes, seemed to think better of it and then tore away. Instead, she let her fangs sink into his neck once more.

He groaned. "Elena."

She sucked harder.

He imagined his skin turning purple under the violent attack of her tongue and teeth.

Finally, she broke away.

"You liked that?" she asked.

"Yes," he can't help but say. And then he changes his mind. "No. No, Elena. This isn't you. If we're going to do this, I want you to be you."

Her face fell. If he didn't know any better, he'd think he had hurt her feelings. "You think I'm holding back?"

"I think you're trying to deal with being a vampire by acting... differently. Not like yourself."

"Oh, really? What makes you say that?"

He took a moment to decide, and then told her why. "You chose Stefan." His confession, uttered almost silently, destroyed the little peace between them. Here on, there was truth or more denial. And he was getting tired of denial. "You chose Stefan, Elena."

She looked away, studying the floor intently for a moment, before looking up again – but not at him – and walking out the door.

_fin._


	17. So Many Maybes

_Damon/Elena_

**_So Many Maybes_**

She escapes his grip, only barely. Each time they meet, she can feel his hold tightening on her just a little bit more. His fingers singe her skin. It has gotten to the point that she would not be surprised if their next contact results in her falling to the very bottom of the pit and landing in there with him.

She's not sure if that'd be a bad thing or if he's grown past his selfish, childish acts enough that it could work out. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad. Maybe he's exactly what she needs, just as he seems to think she's what he needs.

Maybe. So many maybes.

That's all her life is made of up these days. Maybe she'll have a normal day to herself. Maybe a vampire will attack her on the walk home. Maybe a werewolf. Maybe she'll be hit by a car. Maybe she'll die and become a vampire one day. Maybe Stefan or Damon will be the one to turn her, and maybe she'll spend the rest of eternity hating them for it.

Then again, maybe not.

It's stupid, she realises, to wonder when the options are so varied. There are too many options to find the answer immediately, just as there are too few answers being given freely to her. For every piece of information she learns about the supernatural, she pays a price. That price is never known til it comes time to pay.

She's already paid so much.

And then there's Damon. With his alluring smile and piercing blue eyes, his dark hair and his athletic form. His strength. His passion. His cocky attitude, and snarky comments.

His hands.

He grips her tighter each time they cross paths, and unlike the first few times, she no longer resists. She waits and sees what he will do to her, but she doesn't pull away, doesn't try to escape him. And she's certain, without a doubt, that he can sense how much she no longer cares if he finally ensnares her heart.

_Fin._


	18. Glimpses of Hope

_**Glimpses of Hope**_

Sometimes he catches glimpses of her looking across Stefan's shoulders at him. Most of the time, it makes him cringe. Other times, he smiles. The idea of her watching_ him _as Stefan hugs her gives him hope.

Maybe one day it will be him hugging her, and Stefan will be in his position, watching on and wanting. Maybe one day she will be his.

It's stupid, he knows. She will never want him. He's dark and does bad things that go against what she believes in. He drinks human blood. He doesn't deserve her. Everyone knows it.

But that doesn't stop him from wanting her and hoping, nor does it stop her from sneaking glances at him when Stefan's arms are around her and his face is buried in the crook of her neck.

The simple fact that she looks at him when Stefan hugs her is not enough to give him hope, on its own. No, what makes him hope, what makes him keep holding onto the dream of one day being hers, is that sometimes when she looks at him in those moments, she smiles at him, too.

_fin._


	19. Stand a Chance

_**Stand a Chance**_

"Who is she?" Elena asks, flippantly, gesturing at the handbag slung over the back of the couch Damon's sitting on. Only he knows she's anything but flippant, because he can sense her heartbeat kicking up a notch.

"Just a friend," he says easily. He lets a lazy smirk cross his face and then turns from her to walk across the room. He collects a glass of scotch from the table and takes a mouthful.

"Really, Damon. She's not another of your..."

"My what? My conquests? My-"

"Your victims," Elena butts in. "Tell me you didn't compel her too."

He studies her a moment and then smirks some more. "You don't want me to tell you that."

"What?"

"You want me to tell you that I _did_compel her. Because then, she didn't come willingly. And then, you still stand a chance with me."

"Damon, no. I told you I'm fine. It's fine. I'm back with Stefan and you're free to be with whoever you want."

They stare at each other. Elena is first to break away.

"What are you here for, anyway?" he asks.

"When have I needed an excuse to be here?" she returns. When he doesn't answer her, she sighs. "I'm here to see Stefan. We're going for lunch."

"Oh. Right." He turns from her, but not in time to hide his disappointment.

"Damon, I-"

Footsteps sound behind them and suddenly, they're no longer alone. "Hi," Stefan says.

"Hey," she replies, not taking her eyes off Damon.

"You ready?"

Finally, she looks away. She nods to Stefan, smiles a bit. The smile doesn't quite reach her eyes. "Yeah. I am. Let's go."

They head for the door, leaving Damon alone with his drink, a scowl and the handbag of his latest attempt to move on.

_fin._


	20. She Deserves the World

_(Damon/Elena)_

_**She Deserves the World**_

There's nothing left to do. Nothing left but to hope she forgives him. He knows this. He knows he's had more than his fair share of chances. He doesn't deserve any more chances. And she deserves so much better than what he has offered her. She deserves the world.

And so he waits in the shadows, keeps from worsening the situation, and wonders what she will say to him, when she finally can meet his eyes again. He has a theory. She'll probably tell him that his dreams of repenting and becoming a better man are long gone. He'll never be that better man. He'll never be the man for her.

He'll always be dark inside and he'll always end up alone.

And she'll be right. She's smart and she's observant. She sees through him where others don't. That's part of the draw to her. She poses a challenge. But in that challenge, lies the knowledge that she could be the thing that ends him. If he doesn't end her first. There's too much darkness in him.

He's scared to let himself get any closer to him than he already has, in case he _does _end her. He's not sure he could handle that. If he feels that she's beginning to get too close to him, he finds a way to push her away.

Violence usually works. Snark worked too, in the beginning, when she didn't know or understand who he was, but now it has no effect on her. She knows him too well now. She can read him better than most people he has met in his lifetime.

Now, he mostly sticks with violence and harsh words directed at her or Jeremy. Or Stefan. Sometimes that works too. It makes her hate him. It makes her want him far away. And that is better for both of them, he is sure. Mostly, it is better for her. And mostly, he wants not to care about her. If he didn't care, this would be easy.

But he does care. And she deserves the world. So, he pushes her away, shows her his dark side, and resists her attempts at helping him to be a better man. She deserves everything that she ever wanted. He doesn't.

_Fin._


End file.
